Chapter 1155: The Young Beast

Seeing Han Li slightly lost in thought, the silver-horned giant rhinoceros stirred a little.

Han Li's gaze sharpened, and he lightly stamped his foot, pressing the silver-horned giant rhinoceros several inches deeper into the ground like a mountain bearing down.

"I said I wouldn't kill you, but you should also cherish your own life..." Han Li said indifferently.

The silver-horned giant rhinoceros trembled, daring not to make any further move.

"What kind of beast is that young one with the bloodline of an ancient true spirit king? What abilities does it have?" Han Li asked.

"I don't know." The silver-horned giant rhinoceros replied without hesitation.

"Indeed, it's more convenient to just search the soul directly." Han Li frowned and said angrily.

"I really don't know. The young beast is in a sealed slumber, as if petrified, with no aura fluctuations emanating from it. I simply cannot discern its species." The silver-horned giant rhinoceros explained.

"Hmph, if that's the case, how do you know it carries the bloodline of a true spirit king?" Han Li snorted coldly.

"The bloodlines of the eight ancient true spirit kings differ from other barbarian races; they naturally suppress all barbarian races, like wolves seeing their king, born with a sense of submission. You are not of our kind, so naturally you wouldn't know." The silver-horned giant rhinoceros said.

Han Li actually knew something about this, just like the power of the Heavenly Phoenix within him naturally suppressed many avian great demons.

"Take me to see the young beast." Han Li said.

Since it bore the bloodline of a true spirit king, its bloodline power must be formidable. He still lacked two true spirit bloodlines for his Twelve Awakening Transformations. If he could obtain some powerful bloodline from this young beast, his Heavenly Fiend Prison Suppression Art could advance further, giving him more confidence when heading to the Great Golden Source Immortal Domain.

"You said earlier that after questioning, you would let us go. Now you go back on your word. Truly, humans cannot be trusted." Hearing this, the silver-horned giant rhinoceros grew furious again.

"Who told you I am human?" Han Li said, his mind stirring.

"You are not human? That's impossible..." The silver-horned giant rhinoceros shook its massive head.

Han Li's gaze sharpened, and he activated his true spirit bloodline. Silver light flashed over his body, and strands of silver lightning surged forth, transforming him directly into a massive silver lightning roc.

At the same time, with a thought, he withdrew all the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords into his body, revealing his enormous form to all the members of the Silver Horn Rhinoceros and Cloud Pattern Tiger tribes.

Han Li knew that as a human, he could never persuade them to take him to see the young beast, and he was unwilling to truly slaughter both tribes, so he had no choice but to resort to this.

Sensing the true spirit aura emanating from Han Li, all the members of both tribes were stunned.

"You, you... how is this possible?" The silver-horned giant rhinoceros said incredulously.

"My true spirit bloodline cannot be fake, can it? I mean no harm to the young beast you mentioned. You said it is in a slumber; perhaps I can even help." The roc spoke, his voice like a great bell.

As he spoke, he spread his wings and soared into the sky, his wingbeats stirring up howling gales.

"I will take you to see him." The silver-horned giant rhinoceros, no longer suppressed by Han Li, stood up, looked up at the sky, and after a long silence, said.

After reviving the Cloud Pattern Tiger tribe's chieftain and some conversation, Han Li learned that the Silver Horn Rhinoceros tribe's chieftain was named Sangtu, and the Cloud Pattern Tiger tribe's chieftain was called Yunbao.

A life-and-death battle was thus halted by Han Li, an unexpected outsider.

Afterward, the tribesmen tended to their wounded and returned to their tribes, leaving only seven or eight people to follow Sangtu, Han Li, and the others to the hiding place of the young beast.

The group crossed the plain where the battle had taken place, arrived near a low hill, and under Sangtu's guidance, found a cave entrance half-buried underground.

As they approached, a wave of heat surged from the cave mouth, accompanied by a strong smell of sulfur.

"It's inside here?" Han Li frowned and asked.

As he spoke, his divine sense expanded, sweeping through the cave, but he found no special aura.

"Below this cave is a lava lake. Our people usually go into the cave to collect black rock for making battle axes, and they wouldn't normally enter the deepest part. It was only discovered when a tribesman accidentally fell down." Sangtu said.

"Lead the way." Han Li furrowed his brow slightly and said.

Sangtu nodded and descended the stone steps at the cave entrance, stepping into the opening.

Now that he was out of combat mode, his appearance hadn't changed, but his body was no longer so massive and astonishing, only about three meters tall, merely more robust than an ordinary person.

In fact, not only did the Silver Horn Rhinoceros tribe differ in size between combat and normal states, but the Cloud Pattern Tiger tribe was the same. Now they walked upright, and the stripes on their heads had faded considerably, making them look less wild.

Han Li followed closely, with the others entering in turn.

Once inside, Han Li found that the cave, with its rather concealed entrance, was actually very spacious. The left and right walls and the ceiling were covered with traces of excavation, already quite smooth.

The cave passage sloped downward, stretching for what seemed like a thousand zhang.

When the group finally reached the end of the slope, they saw the path ahead gradually narrow, revealing a circular cave entrance about seven or eight zhang in size.

Behind the entrance was a hollow area, its interior flickering with firelight, while waves of pungent odor and scorching heat surged out continuously.

“This is where our clansman fell and discovered the young beast in the lava lake,” Sangtu said.

“Let’s go in and take a look,” Han Li said with a nod.

Without hesitation, Sangtu’s figure flickered as he flew into the cave.

Han Li followed closely, and upon entering the cave mouth, he saw a vast underground lava lake.

The lava in the lake was not flowing; on its surface floated massive black crusts, apparently black rock formed after the lava had cooled. In the gaps between these crusts, bright red traces could still be seen—the lava that remained liquid below.

Han Li’s gaze swept across the lake and soon spotted a black “stone” floating at the very center, resembling a curled-up black dog. With a thought, he flew toward it.

Drawing near, he fixed his gaze on the “stone” below and suddenly felt a strange sensation in his heart.

When Sangtu and the others looked over, they couldn’t help but lower their heads slightly, evidently due to the natural suppression of their bloodline. This stone shaped like a black dog was the young beast he had mentioned.

Han Li glanced at them, then turned his attention back to the stone. Concentrating all his spiritual sense, he examined it carefully for a long time, the confusion in his eyes growing deeper.

“Something’s not right. Last time we came, this lava lake was very active, with no such black rock crusts, and the surface even had rolling waves of fire,” Sangtu said, puzzled, as he came to Han Li’s side.

“Was this young beast this pitch-black before?” Han Li pointed at the “stone” beneath him and asked.

“It was black when I saw it last time, but I remember clearly it wasn’t as dark as this,” Sangtu said firmly after a look.

Han Li descended and gently brushed his hand over the “stone,” feeling a slight chill at his fingertips.

“This beast has been attacked by ice-attribute law power and is severely injured. To save itself, it had to completely seal itself away, hiding in this lava lake to absorb the geothermal energy and resist its injuries,” Han Li said.

“So that’s why the lake’s firepower has dropped sharply, leading to the scene we see now…” Tusang realized with sudden understanding.

“Alright, since we’ve found it, let’s take it back first,” Han Li said with a slight frown.

“No.” At that moment, Cloud Leopard suddenly stepped in front of them and said.

Han Li raised his eyes and looked at him.

The latter immediately showed a trace of fear in his eyes, but still said:

"Since he is healing here, if we rashly take him away, wouldn't that put him in danger?"

"Your concern is not unreasonable, but rest assured, I have a way to save him." Han Li nodded upon hearing this and said.

With that, he opened his palm, and a ball of silver flame lit up in the center, radiating a scorching power a hundred times greater than that of the lava lake, making Santu and the others feel unbearable and involuntarily step away from Han Li.

"Can you rest assured now?" Han Li asked.

"I was overthinking..." Yun Bao said apologetically, holding one hand across his chest.

"Let's go. First, take him back to the Silver Horn Rhinoceros tribe." Han Li said.

Santu was overjoyed upon hearing this, while Yun Bao's eyelids twitched a few times, his gaze somewhat worried.

Han Li noticed this but said nothing more. The enmity accumulated between the two tribes over the long years could not be easily dispelled, so he could understand Yun Bao's concern.

About half an hour later, their group left the lava cave and headed toward the depths of the plain.

...

The Silver Horn Rhinoceros tribe was located by a large river on the left side of the plain. Tall tent-like buildings made of rock, animal hide, and wood were scattered along the right bank of the river, presenting a magnificent sight from afar.

When Han Li and the others returned, all the members of the Silver Horn Rhinoceros tribe, regardless of age or gender, came out of their tents to welcome their chief's return. Upon sensing the bloodline suppression emanating from the "stone" carried by their clansmen, they all involuntarily lowered their heads.

But when they saw Yun Bao and his companions, their eyes turned red, and their killing intent surged.

If not for Santu's intervention, the scene might have gotten out of control.

However, this was not to be blamed on them, for almost all of them had relatives or friends killed by Yun Bao and his men.

Tusang led the group to his own tent and had several clansmen place the black "stone" they had carried back onto his animal-hide bed.

Han Li raised his hand, and a small silver flame figure materialized in his palm.

As soon as it appeared, the temperature inside the tent soared sharply, and waves of scorching heat radiated from it, forcing Tusang and the others to step back involuntarily.